Karen Sim, WRJ First Vice President, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Cincinnati, OH

For me, Jacob's ladder is the connection between heaven and Earth, which we travel in life, as contemporary Jews, with the guidance of Torah and the wisdom we garner from personal experience to act in an ethical and moral fashion. Our “house of God” is the Earth we inhabit, the arena where we balance good and bad, and seek to bring divine inspiration to daily life. This is our challenge and guides our choices as individuals and as members of Women of Reform Judaism.

This week’s Torah portion is the oft-dreaded Parashah Tazria, from Leviticus, commonly referred to as the menstruation/leprosy parashah.  

One of the topics this parashah deals with is female impurity as a result of giving birth, segregation from the...

 

When I was a little girl attending Sunday school, I learned about the Ten Commandments and understood the gist of most of them, particularly the commandments about one God, not stealing, and honoring my Mother and Father. I learned the Sh’ma, our...